Premier League

Darren Bent to Sunderland – Goodbye and Good Luck

/ Alan / Leave a comment

Darren’s Bent’s transfer to Sunderland for £10m plus add-ons means we can recoup most of the cash Charlton trousered and have now squandered. His fee was never as high as the often quoted £16.5m and Levy softened the blow with easy payments over three years. So not a bad deal in the end and I wish him well; a decent player and by all accounts a decent bloke too.

You could never tell how Bent was feeling. Happy or sad, he habitually wore a similar fixed expression, the only clue being a slight movement of the eyebrows, up for ‘goal!’ and down for, well, let’s be honest, they were down for a lot of the time. Yet this mask failed to hide his unease at being a Tottenham player. Despite being our top goalscorer, he seldom looked the part and never settled.

His recent outburst on Twitter was rather endearing. In this bland world of media-managed comments and interviews, here was a guy expressing an opinion. No wonder he was hacked off, as delays jeopardised his transfer. It revealed how much he wanted to get away.

Footballers are extremely well recompensed for the inconvenience of criticism from the media and from fans, but being dragged off a plane at the last moment, in front of your team mates, could not have been a pleasant experience for him. Yet this was nothing in comparison with Harry’s famous comment about his headed miss, the one that Sandra could have put away.

In this morning’s papers Bent says this comment hurt at the time and still does, and that he never felt valued by his manager. Remember that Bent invested considerably in our club, turning down a substantially larger offer from West Ham to join us under Martin Jol. It reveals another side of Redknapp, darker than the avuncular father figure image that he so assiduously cultivates. No friendly arm around the shoulder here, but stark rejection. Some Portsmouth players have commented on this same feature. If Harry makes it clear that you are unwanted, that’s a cold place to be.

It also demonstrates that Bent is one of those players for whom confidence matters hugely. We rarely saw him at his best. For all the occasions when he looked sharp in front of goal, these were outweighed by feeble misses, not wide so much but the certainty that he would score was missing in his glazed expression. He waited for something to happen instead of making it so, in the same way that playing up front he hung back rather than attacked the ball. In his head he needed to give himself that extra fraction of a second, but all he did was allow defenders to time and again get in first. He left too great a gap between himself and the midfield, therefore the link-up play constantly foundered.

Neither goalscorer nor target-man, there’s no place at the club for him. I feel odd in dismissing our top goalscorer but the move is right, for him and us. He will do better at Sunderland, a bigger fish in a smaller pond. With less of a burden on his shoulders, it will be nice to see him a crack a smile.

Ossie’s Real Dream

/ Alan / Leave a comment

In a few moments you will read the words of a great Tottenham footballer. Properly, fully, righteously great is what I’m saying here, as opposed to ‘great’ in the modern sense of the word, which in the otherwise vacant mind of many a media hack has come to be defined as ‘slightly better than average.’

Great as in supremely talented, to the extent that his gift enabled him to rise to the very pinnacle of his sport. Yet his virtues would be decried in this day and age. Skilful admittedly, but he could work harder, cover more ground defensively, not take a breather every now and again. With the insight born of the conclusive 57th replay in ultra slow motion, Andy Gray would pick holes in his stamina and positioning. Tut tut.

We mere mortals who delighted in his dexterity, we knew. Our hearts beat faster when he came onto the ball, skipping over the ground, bursts of short staccato steps, hunched shoulders, arms outstretched to offer balance and a measure of protection for his diminutive frame from muscular defenders anxious to disrupt his flow.

Sure he was not a 90 minute man and the fags didn’t help, but it’s what he accomplished in those 20 minute spells when he did play that counts. Then the whole game danced to his tune. He set the pace, a skip, a touch, pass and move, into space, teammates guided towards the pass that would follow not in a moment but in two or three passes time.

A World Cup winner, he held the ultimate prize but remains humble and content with a life in the game, even though that game has hurt him a time or two since then.  A lesson here for the preening precious narcissists we call professionals. Celebrated in his own country but in the drab surroundings of north London he was loved, truly loved, never to be forgotten.

And now, years later, we discover Ossie Ardilles’ real dream. To play once more this wonderful, beautiful game, just for the sake of it. If only.

“ Osvaldo Ardiles concludes his autobiography, Ossie’s Dream, published next week: “And if you asked me, ‘What is your dream, your real dream?’, well, apart from managing a national side in a World Cup, it’s simple: I would give anything to be able to play one more match. I don’t mean a kickabout with some mates. I mean a real, proper football match. Just to walk into the dressing room, all the kit laid out, the new socks, the boots … everything ready.

“Just to do a little run on the spot, a bit of jumping to warm up, then to walk out of the tunnel on to the turf of a real stadium. Just to hear the roar of the crowd and to let my mind compute all the emotions and thoughts and strategies simultaneously: my loved ones, my loyalties, my fitness and, above all, who is going to be marking me? Just to hear the whistle blow, and for the game to start.”

Extract taken from Richard Williams’ column in the Guardian today.

Never Mind Spurs Crouch – What About the Others?

/ Alan / Leave a comment

Tottenham Hotspur’s signing of Peter Crouch for £9m is the most significant element in Harry Redknapp’s team building since he took over as manager. However, most fans, including me, will be resigned rather than excited at the prospect.

Signings in the January window were all about expediency, taking who was available, less about the long term and much more about Premier League survival. As soon as Redknapp had some options available, there was a dreary inevitability about his choice, despite his media protestations to the contrary (see my Harrywatch page).  Harry likes a big man up front and Harry knows what works in the Premier League. Never mind my reservations: Crouch is a decent player and the fact is, why should a man like Huntelaar leave Real Madrid for a team with a proud history but which is not even in Europe. Perhaps we should take what we can get and make the best of it.

I saw Crouch play for Spurs reserves on a couple of occasions, and whilst he looked all right, there was no hint that he could become one of the most sought after and traded strikers in the country, let alone an international. He’s been lucky, playing in an era when top class British strikers have been in short supply. Also, the current fashionable tactics allow for a single central striker, with attacking midfielders cum strikers working around him.

However, Crouch is no Torres or Berbatov, both intelligent, gifted footballers as adept in front of goal as they are setting up teammates with a touch or pass. Crouch on a bad day is a static target man, content to offer scraps to his colleagues. His spell with Southampton showed he was much more than this. I’m not talking so much about his clichéd ‘great touch for a big man’, rather about how effective he looked with the ball to head or feet but crucially in front of him. Give him something to run on to and not be content for him to goal hang or stand with his back to goal.

Crouch himself is not the problem. It’s what everyone does around him that’s important. Fill the team with limited players and Crouch becomes the focus for aimless long ball rubbish. Introduce intelligence and creativity and he becomes just one attacking option, around which the team can flow.

With Crouch up front, team mates under pressure always have an out ball. As he holds on to the ball or even when it is in the air, precious moments are created for our midfield to get forward and turn defence into attack. This helps our defensive play too, reducing anxiety for attacking midfielders wondering whether or not to fall back.

Fine, but they must not be tempted to use that option too readily. England fall into this trap whenever he plays. Men like Modric and Keane can work around him, with pass and move the best way forward, whilst Defoe and Jenas with his runs from deep can work off him, looking for touches and flicks. But when Lennon has the ball, Crouch must time it right and meet it on the run, or drift to the back post for a cross goal header. Immediately several options open up, but it’s what the others do that will make it a success, not just wait around for Crouch to take the pressure.

Tottenham Hotspur Transfer At Last – A Right Couple of Kyles

/ Alan / 1 Comment

Tottenham Hotspur’s first foray into the transfer market has hardly been the blockbuster signing may fans hoped for. However, Redknapp’s purchase of a couple of Kyles provides some fresh insight into his plans for the club, on and off the pitch.

Messrs Walker and Naughton caught my eye when I watched Sheffield United a few times at the end of last season. Both are agile and pacy, early days but very much in the modern mould of the multi-skilled full-back who uses speed and timing as defensive weapons, rather than the traditional attributes like hard tackling. Those talents are essential in attack too, plus a good cross comes in handy.

Having overcome Jol’s fixation on collecting centre-midfielders, Redknapp is apparently compelled to stockpile right backs. Although both these boys are for the future – Walker is being loaned back to the Blades to continue his footballing education – this deal is part of Harry’s wider plans to rebuild the squad.

We have a number of right backs but actually they are different types of player. Corluka, who I rate extremely highly, is excellent defensively but less dynamic going forward. Centre half could be his eventual home.

Hutton looks strong in both departments. In his first game back at the end of last season as a sub, he signalled his arrival with a superb fast swerving cross, a reminder of what we had been sorely missing for most of last season. But word is that Hutton has a bit of a problem off the field, maybe likes a drop or two and can’t take it, so he’s being touted around.

Chimbonda was bought in different times, to cover a defensive problem that never materialised as Woody and King stayed fit and BAE grew into a class act.

Full backs are crucial to tactics that succeed in the Premiership. Lying deep, they can see openings ahead of them and utilise that precious space, providing they are sufficiently swift and aware. I retain high hopes for Bale in just such a role, but he needs to work on the defensive aspects of his game.

Naughton therefore gives us the attacking full back option, one that Harry wants to develop, although in my view every effort should be made to keep Hutton. At Portsmouth, Redknapp out of necessity went for a different option at first, as did O’Neill at Villa. Both constrained by budgets, they deployed centre halves at full back. They stayed back, did not come out of position and provided a platform for the midfield and attackers to move up. When an alternative became available in the shape of Glen Johnson, Redknapp changed style, allowing him to advance frequently. The arrival of the Kyles may well signal his preference for this formation, or at least have that option available, depending on how attack minded our opponents allow us to be.

One casualty is another more defensive minded player, Chris Gunther. A shame: he looked promising. We did not need the cash to complete the Kyle deal. Rather, he is an example of a player who we might have happily kept but who is expendable if Harry believes he can do better. The same applies to several other squad members. Expect more deals where we sell only when the replacement has been sorted.

He is also a victim of our excessive turnover of managers. Each has been given Levy’s full backing, each has their own idea of which players they want, especially risky in the business of spotting young talent. Gunther, Taarabt, Gio, perhaps Bale: Harry does not value the potential in which previous managers invested. Possibly a waste of talent, certainly a waste of money. These are the hidden costs of the constant regime changes,

Levy must shoulder full responsibility, but he can be a shrewd dealmaker. The reputed £8m is a fortune for two young unproven players but in years to come it may be seen as a wise investment. In the here and now, we are not going to pay it all in a single lump sum. Also, we have two assets not possessed by our bidding rivals Everton – cash and squad players. Levy used both as levers, cash upfront and a promise that Sheffield can take players on loan this season to seal the deal. Nice work, and,  as I said last time, a lot of money and some risk, but what Harry wants, Harry gets.